ComfortZone (6 page)

“Hang this up for me while I get him settled?”

“No problem.” The barn wasn’t his favorite place to be. Not
having spent much time in the stable, horses were a little bit of a mystery to
him. He couldn’t ride, didn’t know how to take care of them, and frankly, wasn’t
all that interested. Mary Ellen, on the other hand, thought of the horses as
her babies.

As she passed by with the horse, he could have sworn it gave
him the evil eye.

Babies. Right. Half-ton babies that bit and kicked.

She led the horse into the farthest stall, so he hefted the
saddle up and walked into the tack room. At least this he could do without
problems.

He hung the bridle up, draped the saddle in place and folded
the blanket. At the sound behind him, he turned. Mary Ellen stood, back against
the closed door, smile on her face.

“Something amusing?” He dropped the blanket down.

“Just watching you, in your nice khakis and business shoes,
getting all dusty in my barn. It’s cute.”

Cute. He hadn’t been cute since the fourth grade. With a
scowl he looked around her. “Are you finished with work?”

She shook her head. “Taking a break. I need to relax.”

He waited a moment, but she closed the door. “Do you want to
grab some lunch?”

“Nope.” She took his hand and pulled him to her. “I want to
grab some you.”

His cock instantly hardened at the suggestion. “So let’s
head on over to my place and we’ll—”

His words cut off when she grabbed the back of his neck and
yanked him down for a kiss. Taken off guard, he jerked in surprise, giving her
the leverage she needed to turn him around and press his back against the door.

“You sleep like a rock,” she said between kisses.

“What?” She moved down to his jaw, and her fingers walked
their way over his chest. How was he supposed to follow any train of thought
with her creeping toward his belt?

She chuckled. How could someone so tiny have such a husky,
thick laugh? It shot lust straight through his body.

“I was hoping for an encore this morning, but that died a
quick death when I saw how deeply you were asleep.”

“Ah.”
Intelligent, Brice.
She dipped one finger
between his stomach and waistband and he sucked in a breath. “Yup, when I’m
out, I’m out.”

She cupped his crotch. “I don’t think anyone’s out. Not yet
anyway.”

Oh good Christ, he was reaching a breaking point. “If you
keep that up—”

“What? You’ll have to teach me a lesson?” She raised her
head, lips in a fake pout. “Shame on me.” Her eyes gleamed as she
squeezed—hard—and his balls tightened with eagerness.

“Back to my cabin,” he managed to get out while her tongue
and teeth played with his earlobe.

“What’s wrong with here? I’m all alone today, no helpers.”

Here? It was the stable, for the love of… Oh dear God. Her
tongue rimmed his ear and she purred. Fingers scratched his scalp, her other
hand massaged him below the belt. Too many sensations to process.

Brice was strictly a sex-is-for-bed kind of person. Someone
invented comfortable mattresses for a reason. But reason abandoned him as he
lifted Mary Ellen by the butt, deposited her on the nearest table and knocked
off a few pieces of metal to fall on the concrete floor. His fingers fumbled
with the snap of her jeans, and she pushed his hands aside to do it herself.

“You,” she gasped when he nipped her jaw. “Get those off.”

His body’s immediate willingness to respond and react to her
command gave him pause. But the end result would be the same if she’d asked him
or not. Reaching quickly for his wallet, he snagged the just-in-case foil
square and let his khakis drop to his knees, along with his boxers. Looking
back up, smooth, cream-colored thighs filled his vision as they opened wide for
him. Her pussy was already wet, he could tell by sight, and he almost dropped
the condom in his haste.

Mary Ellen laughed, as usual always able to find humor in
any situation. “I like that you want me enough to lose your cool sometimes.”

The words were like a cool shower, halting his lust in its
fiery tracks. He was about to lose control. Couldn’t let it happen. Wouldn’t.
They’d both lose out if he did.

Mary Ellen held out her hands, wanting him to take her fast,
hard. As if he couldn’t wait another minute. Like a stud and his mare. All
passion, no common sense. Because it was real then. It was true and
uncomplicated and she believed it.

Brice pulled her to the edge, so her ass was almost off the
table. She hadn’t pulled off her boots or jeans, and they weighed like manacles
around her ankles, keeping her legs closer together than she wanted.

“Take me fast, Brice.” She kept her voice low, not wanting
to break the moment with harsh, loud sounds. Just their breath and the sounds
of their movement filled the small room, like their own private universe.
Invitation only.

But instead of following her direction, he slowed down. Face
serious, eyes intense, he nuzzled under her jaw, by her pulse.

“Brice. Please,” she whispered, lifting her hips as much as
she could for contact. But the angle worked against her, and she had little
control. Again. Last time, it had been her hands she wasn’t allowed to use.
This time, her legs were rendered useless. Coincidence?

His fingers grazed the outside of her pussy, and thoughts of
last time flew from her mind. Tender, thoughtful strokes outlining between her
legs, butterfly-light caresses.

“Say it again.”

His fingertips paused, close to her entrance. It took a
moment to rack her slowly melting brain for what he wanted.

“Please. Brice.” She bit her lip to hold back a moan as two
fingers entered her fast, then froze. She pulsed around him, wanting him to
move. But he stayed still, working his way down her collarbone to the other
side of her neck.

Finally, he crooked his fingers, hitting just the right spot
to give her a small teaser of an orgasm. It was almost more frustrating than
satisfying, and the smug smile he wore said he knew exactly why she growled.
But he pulled his fingers out and positioned his cock, grazing over her clit
before dipping in an inch.

Once more she tried to lift her hips. But with no way to
anchor her heels, since her legs weren’t long enough to touch the floor, she
hadn’t a chance.

“Brice.”

He sucked hard on the skin above her breast, and she knew
it’d leave a red mark. Annoyance warred with pleasure at the thought of being
marked. By him. For him. Then he sank in farther and she forgot the mark
entirely.

“Faster, please.” Okay, so she was begging. It’d come to
that. She would forgive him if he’d just…fucking…move!

Finally he drifted in all the way, filling her completely.

“You need to relax, remember?”

She squeezed his biceps. “I thought a nice, sweaty session
would do that for me. Not exactly sweating here.”

“Instead, you can lay back and let me do the work. I don’t
mind.”

But she did. Didn’t she? As he pulled out, pushed back in
and rotated his hips, she stopped caring. Oh God, that felt good.

“Your shoes left marks on my back,” he whispered in her ear.

“Sorry,” she gasped out when he circled again, stroking
every nerve in her pussy.

“I liked seeing them. Mark me anytime.” With that, he sped
up, pushing them both to the brink, and then they jumped off together.

She convulsed, arched her back and moaned into his chest as
the climax slammed into her. Above her, Brice grunted, cursed and froze in
ecstasy before collapsing like a wet rag over her. Still not crushing her
though, as he somehow managed to still fall to the side to keep his weight off.

Because he was still controlled. Even in the middle of an
orgasm, he managed to keep his head in the game.

And what the hell? She’d started this whole sex-in-the-barn
thing wanting to take charge, to play the leader, the aggressor this time. He’d
had his turn last night, it was her time to be alpha dog. And somehow he’d
worked and maneuvered until he was once again the one that had ultimate power.

This was obviously a habit of his. And maybe he’d never been
called on it before. But Mary Ellen wasn’t about to let him have unlimited
authority in the bedroom.

The rasp of wood under her backside reminded her they were
as far from a bedroom as possible.

Which was fine. So he couldn’t have unlimited authority
wherever they ended up fucking. Brice needed his world shaken up. And she was
just the woman to do it.

* * * * *

Brice sat in the main camp office, waiting for the business
group coming in for the three-day weekend. It was the last retreat group before
the camp went into full-preparation mode for summer kids to descend. Though the
camp could survive on the fees from the children alone, hosting CEO
team-building retreats through the off seasons helped not only with getting
ahead on the budget, but also scholarships. The scholarships made it possible
to offer kids who had a bad start in life the chance for at least a few weeks
of normalcy. Freedom. Fresh air. Three guaranteed meals a day, a couple weeks
of adults who cared about them, treated them decently, wanted the best for
them.

This was how he met the Winstons. How he became one of them.
He was one of their first scholarship kids, the first to receive that
unconditional support. And somehow, the only one they chose to love forever.

Humble didn’t begin to cover it.

A knock at the office door had him looking up, pulling him
from the past.

“Brice? The group arrived. They actually headed straight for
the cafeteria, so I thought I’d come tell you. They said they had a long
drive.”

“Thanks, Jessica.” The teen closed the door behind her, and
he was alone again with his thoughts. Only this time, they were mostly annoyed.
Not only was the group two hours late to check in, but they didn’t have the
decency to send someone to the office like he asked. The lack of consideration
was astounding.

And this coming from a guy who dealt with three hundred
tweens every summer.

Gathering the necessary paperwork, he sighed and headed down
to the mess hall. Might as well not even bother waiting for someone to finally
trek up the whole hundred yards to the office.

Scholarship money. Scholarship money. Scholarship money.

His mantra during these retreats.

The noise and shouts could be heard almost the moment he
stepped outside onto the dirt path. What the hell? Were they fighting? He
picked up the pace, then started to jog as the ruckus got louder.

Bursting through the double doors, he assessed the situation
in a moment. And the frozen-gut feeling of panic slid up his spine until his
chest simmered with anger.

The executives, casually dressed in polo shirts with the
company logo and jeans, stood around a table. All twelve of them. Hanging on
every word uttered by the woman sitting on top. Legs crossed, showing off
tanned, toned limbs in short-shorts and flip-flops, camp tank dipping lower
than he’d ever seen it.

Mary Ellen. Who else?

One of the men leaned close, said something next to her ear
and she threw her head back with laughter. Brice knew what they were all
thinking. The insta-boner each guy got as he stood there, staring at her chest,
her legs.

“Sorry I missed the party.”

Thirteen heads turned toward him, only one was frowning.
Mary Ellen hopped down from the table and walked toward him, parting the sea of
males. “Hey, Brice.” Her voice was different, a little lower, softer than
usual. “The guys here were exhausted from their drive over. I thought they’d
enjoy a little food before all that tedious paperwork.”

The crowd cheered again. Apparently even the simple mention
of food had them excited. Brice started to say something, but then took a
moment to pause. What was that smell…

Beer. The group smelled like they’d been rolling around the
inside of a microbrewery. Damn. But even as he started to get angry, he noticed
they were turning their attention to the sandwich platter that sat on the
table, next to where Mary Ellen had perched.

“Boys, we’ll be right back. You eat every one of those
sandwiches, you hear?”

Mouths full, they answered in some form of mumbled
agreement.

Brice grabbed her arm and pulled until they were outside. He
tried a few deep breaths, but his anger trumped common sense.

“What. The. Fuck were you doing in there?”

She shook until he let go. “Saving the weekend. Obviously.”
Her face said it all.
Are you blind?

“Saving the weekend by what, offering yourself up for
viewing pleasure? Exactly how is that helping?”

Her mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. Then, to his
surprise, an eerie calm took her over. “Well, boss, the guys showed up drunk
and ready to rumble. Hammered. Completely wasted. Not to mention stupid. I was
concerned they were going to go running off into the woods and get lost like a
bunch of slobbering fools. So instead I decided to ply them with food and
attention to help sober them up a little faster before anyone did something
completely moronic and hurt themselves and tried to sue the camp before any
liability paperwork could be signed.”

He tried to speak, but she held up a hand. “I’m not going to
apologize for how I handled it. I was thinking on the fly, and I don’t regret
giving them a little flirt to keep them all preoccupied while the sandwiches
soaked up some alcohol. Hopefully, with no access to booze up here, they’ll be
more calm for the rest of the weekend. You’re welcome.”

She turned on her heel and walked away, not looking back
once.

Jackass. He was a jackass. But even a jackass had a job, and
he knew she was right. Time to get some papers signed to get the weekend
started. The sooner things got started, the sooner the guys would be able to
head to their cabins and he could start fixing the mess he stepped in.